I grew up on Georgian Bay and as a girl was fascinated by everything that swam in the water. At the age of eight it was, muskrats, turtles and carp and as I grew older, it became everything that I couldn't see under the water. I loved to swim and did this from May to October every year. The neighbourhood kids were always the first ones in by May 24 and we were loathe to give it up--even at the end of September. As the third oldest of seven children—all born within 11 years—I had four younger siblings that I taught to swim and cared for at the local beach to make sure they were safe.

My dream was to be a marine biologist and live in Hawaii. By the time I hit my early 20's, I was married with a couple of children and life happened... I never lost sight of my dream though and when the children were grown, I decided that it was time to do something about it. I signed up for the Open Water Diver course and I never looked back.

I'm living my dream and it has been more rewarding and exciting than I could have imagined. The inspiration of seeing a spotted eagle ray soar through the ocean in front of you, or one of the most long-lived of all creatures--the sea turtle, swim along side of you or feel the immense power of a shark moving beside you brings realization of how truly wondrous the ocean really is. Please come and join me as I'd love to share this experience with you.